How Sacred Groves and Seed Banks Protect Endangered Species

Every species offers something — food, medicine, clean air, or simply the value of existing. Protecting them requires conserving whole habitats where species live and, when those habitats are under threat, keeping species safe outside their natural homes.

This part covers the reasons for conservation, in situ conservation and hotspots, protected areas and sacred groves, and ex situ conservation with international commitments.

We should conserve biodiversity because it gives direct economic benefits such as food, fibre and medicines, which is the narrowly utilitarian argument; because ecosystems provide vital services such as oxygen production, pollination and aesthetic pleasure, the broadly utilitarian argument; and because every species has intrinsic value, the ethical argument.

Narrowly utilitarian:

- Food — cereals, pulses and fruits
- Firewood, fibre and construction material
- Industrial products — tannins, lubricating oils, dyes, resins and perfumes
- Medicines — many drugs come from plants; exploring nature for such useful products is called bioprospecting

Broadly utilitarian — ecosystem services:

- Oxygen production — forests such as the Amazon release large amounts of oxygen through photosynthesis
- Pollination — bees, bumblebees, birds and bats pollinate crops and wild plants, a service that would be very costly to replace
- Aesthetic pleasure — walking through forests, watching flowers bloom or hearing birdsong

Ethical:

- Every species has intrinsic value, even with no current economic use
- We have a moral duty to care for other species and pass on this biological heritage

An everyday example. Neem, tulsi and turmeric used as home remedies in India show the direct value of plant biodiversity.

The substance. Ecosystem services are easy to overlook because they are free — their true value becomes obvious only when they are lost.

In situ conservation protects species in their natural habitats so that whole ecosystems survive, and the hotspot approach focuses effort on regions with very high species richness, high endemism and severe habitat loss — three of which, the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and the Himalaya, cover India's richest biodiversity regions.

In situ conservation:

- Protects species on site, in their natural surroundings
- Preserves the entire ecosystem, including the interactions among species

Biodiversity hotspots:

- Regions with very high species richness and a high degree of endemism — species found nowhere else — that are also severely threatened
- The number of hotspots worldwide now stands at 34
- Together they cover less than 2 per cent of Earth's land area, yet hold a very large share of its species

Hotspots covering India:

- Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
- Indo-Burma
- Himalaya

An everyday example. The rainforests of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Karnataka, home to many endemic frogs and plants, form part of one of India's hotspots.

The substance. High species numbers alone do not make a hotspot — the region must also have high endemism and face serious threat.

India protects biodiversity through legally protected areas — biosphere reserves that combine conservation with sustainable use by local people, national parks where human activities are strictly limited, and wildlife sanctuaries where some activities are allowed — and through sacred groves, forest patches protected by communities for religious reasons in Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and central India.

Legally protected areas:

- Biosphere reserves — large areas protecting ecosystems while allowing sustainable use; usually zoned into a protected core, a surrounding buffer and an outer transition zone
- National parks — strictly protected for wildlife; grazing, forestry and cultivation are not permitted
- Wildlife sanctuaries — protect wildlife, but some activities such as collecting forest produce may be allowed

Sacred groves:

- Tracts of forest where all trees and wildlife are venerated and given total protection
- Found in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, the Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan, the Western Ghats regions of Karnataka and Maharashtra, and the Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar areas of central India

An everyday example. Villagers who will not cut even a dry branch from their sacred grove keep patches of dense old forest alive amid farmland.

The substance. Traditional beliefs can be powerful conservation tools — sacred groves have sheltered forests through community respect, not just legal rules.

Ex situ conservation protects threatened species away from their natural habitats — in zoological parks, botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks, and through cryopreservation of gametes, in vitro fertilisation, tissue culture and seed banks — while the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the World Summit in Johannesburg committed nations to conserve biodiversity, use it sustainably and reduce its rate of loss.

Ex situ methods:

- Zoological parks, botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks — keep and breed threatened animals and plants under special care
- Cryopreservation — gametes of threatened species stored in viable, fertile condition at very low temperatures
- In vitro fertilisation — eggs fertilised in the laboratory
- Tissue culture — plants propagated from small pieces of tissue
- Seed banks — seeds of commercially important plants stored for long periods

International commitments:

- Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro — produced the Convention on Biological Diversity, calling on all nations to take measures for the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its benefits
- World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg — countries pledged to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss at global, regional and local levels

An everyday example. Seed banks storing traditional Indian rice varieties protect genetic diversity that farmers may need in future.

The substance. Ex situ conservation supports but cannot replace in situ conservation — species in zoos or seed banks are cut off from the ecosystems they belong to.